Joining Spark Capital

I’m incredibly excited to announce that I’ve joined Spark Capital.

The decision to transition from product builder to investor a year and a half ago was somewhat of a serendipitous one. One that, at the time, I thought would give me a new perspective and ultimately make me a better operator, or even founder. Flash forward to today and I’ve realized venture’s an incredible journey — one that I want to be on for many, many more years. Being an investor’s been a humbling experience so far. Every day feels like day 1 in terms of new learnings and leveling up.

Venture firms, like companies, are collections of people organizing around a set of values. We want to find “our people”: teammates who embody our values, but also challenge our thinking and expand our worldview.

As I got to know the Spark team, it became clear that they were “my people.” Our values aligned: a focus on collaboration over credit, a deep intellectual curiosity, and a bias for hustle. I admired how, from day one, the team has consistently believed in founders and the products they’ve built before others. I saw a desire to prove their worth to founders. This matched the respect and admiration shared by the founders they work with. Oh, and did I mention fun? The team knows how to have a good laugh!

Many thanks to the entrepreneurs who have given me the opportunity to work with them and the team at Shasta for letting me cut my teeth in venture. I’m grateful for the time they’ve all invested and for giving me the opportunity to grow as an investor. I’ll continue to root for you.

At Spark, I’ll continue to focus on investing in early-stage software companies that that are changing the way people work. I’m particularly interested in automation, collaboration, and product-led growth. If you’re building something new, I’d love to chat with you. Nothing’s too early. Shoot me an email at natalie [at] sparkcapital.com or reach out via twitter at @natsandman.

I couldn’t be more excited to join the Spark family.

*Aside: At Zenefits, our DBA name was “Your People” and Parker thought every company an employee joins should be “their people.” I whole-heartedly agree with this.